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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WDBD is the -
for , , . It broadcasts a
channel 40 from a transmitter on Thigpen Road in . Owned by , it is operated by
agreement (SSA) in a
affiliate , and
Although technically owned by , WLOO is actually controlled by American Spirit and in turn Raycom Media through a separate
(JSA). All three television outlets share studios on South
Street in Downtown Jackson.
programming on WDBD includes , , , and
among others.
The station began broadcasting on November 30, 1984 as the 's first
outlet. It was also the first television station in
to not be affiliated with a network. On July 6, 1987, WDBD became the area's first Fox affiliate although the fourth broadcast network had launched back in October 1986. The station switched to
in October 2001 leaving Jackson without an over-the-air Fox affiliate for the next two years. It would not be until September 2003 when WUFX (now WLOO) signed-on in nearby
and became the area's second Fox affiliate. In the interim, programming from the network was provided exclusively on
for those who lived in the Natchez area and on
for Jackson-area cable subscribers.
In January and February 2006, respectively, it was announced that the
and WB networks would merge and form
(owner of Fox) made public another new programming service called MyNetworkTV would start up as well. UPN affiliate
was announced as Jackson's CW affiliate while WUFX eventually joined MyNetworkTV. In advance of switching to the latter network, WUFX and WDBD swapped affiliations. On July 3, 2006, the former picked up The WB but began identifying itself on-air as "My 35" in anticipation of joining the new service. Meanwhile, WDBD rejoined Fox for a second time and became known as "Fox 40".
WDBD and WUFX were sold by previous owner Jackson Television to Roundtable Broadcasting in early-2010. However, its licensee listing with the
(FCC) still says Jackson Television. Marc Jaromin is the station's current /. Fellow Fox affiliate
technically serves the
market (through a
) but shares some of its coverage territory with WDBD. WNTZ also maintains a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation and therefore encroaches on WUFX's home territory as well.
Roundtable Broadcasting filed to sell WDBD and
in July 2012. As part of the deal, the station's operations were taken over by , owner of , under a share American Spirit also acquired WUFX and
from Vicksburg Broadcasting, but spun off the WUFX license to
(though it operates that station under a joint sales agreement). The transaction was consummated on November 13.
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Programming
Main WDBD programming /
WDBD shut down its analog signal, over
channel 40, on May 4, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition
channel 6 to UHF channel 40.
WDBD increased the new digital signal's power to full-powered as opposed to the
operation before the switchover. That change was needed because its previous
digital signal had a tough time reaching the outer suburbs of Jackson. The current UHF signal pushes well into the
market to the west and the // DMA to the north.
In the early-1990s, WDBD aired a local newscast called Mississippi News Tonight which was simulcasted on
in . Likewise, it featured regionalized news and
coverage despite being produced at this station's facility in Jackson. Due to low
and inconsistent viewership, the program was dropped from both outlets after only a year on-the-air.
In August 2008, WDBD established a second news department and began airing a thirty-minute prime time show. Known as Fox 40 News at 9, this was originally seen every night. After a short period of time, however, weekend broadcasts were dropped due to inadequate resources. On January 24, 2009, the weeknight newscast began airing in high definition resulting in this outlet becoming Jackson's first television station to make the upgrade. With the change came a new logo and an updated graphics package based on the standardized theme seen on Fox .
In April 2010, WDBD added two weeknight newscasts, both half-hour in length. The early evening show, known as Fox 40 News at 6, directly competed with news programs seen on the area's . This would subsequently be dropped for a 5:30 p.m. broadcast, which currently airs against the national evening network newscasts. The late night program, called Fox 40 News at 10 on My 35, aired on WUFX and also competed with the area's big three outlets.
A further expansion occurred on January 17, 2011 after WDBD launched a weekday morning show called Fox 40 & Friends (name adapted from
which can be seen at the same time on ). The program, eventually renamed Fox 40 A.M., aired for two hours from 7 until 9 providing a local alternative to the national morning shows seen on the market's big three stations. To correspond with that addition, the weeknight prime time show at 9 was reformatted. It now included a fast-paced segment featuring the top stories of the day and a complete weather forecast in the first nine minutes before a commercial break.
After American Spirit Media completed its acquisition of WDBD and entered into the shared services agreement with WLBT, the station's news department was shut down resulting in several members of the WDBD staff being laid-off. Production of the station's newscasts was assumed by WLBT on November 12, 2012 with all of the news programming retained (except for the 10 p.m. show on WUFX since it would compete with WLBT). Its weekday morning show was renamed a third time to Fox 40 Morning News at this point.
All newscasts on this station currently originate from WLBT's primary set at its South Jefferson Street studios except with separate on-air
and graphics indicating the Fox-branded newscasts. Although it shares a majority of on-air personnel with WLBT, WDBD maintains a separate additional news anchor for the weekday morning and weeknight shows. WLBT and WDBD operate a combined news department under the "Mississippi News Now" branding very similar to Raycom partnerships in
(with -owned ) and
(with American Spirit Media-owned ).
(PDF). 1999. p. B-45 2012.
. Television Business Report. March 18, .
Seyler, Dave (August 1, 2012). . Television Business Report 2012.
Gates, Jimme E. (August 21, 2012). .
Gates, Jimmie (November 12, 2012). . The Clarion Ledger 2012.
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